“The reason they call it the American Dream is because you
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“The reason they call it the American Dream is because you have to be asleep to believe it.” ~ George Carlin Sylvia A. Allegretto, PhD Co-Director, Center for Wage & Employment Dynamics Institute for Research on Labor & Employment University of California, Berkeley
“The reason they call it the American Dream is because you have to be asleep to believe it.” ~ George Carlin
Sylvia A. Allegretto, PhD Co-Director, Center for Wage & Employment Dynamics Institute for Research on Labor & Employment University of California, Berkeley
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Welcome! Inequality is a problem post-great recession but has been in the works for over 3 decades as wages stagnate or decline. But Corporate profits, wealth of the Top 1% and Wall St soar.
$0
$200,000
$400,000
$600,000
$800,000
$1,000,000
$1,200,000
$1,400,000
$1,600,000
Ave
rage
Inco
me
(201
1$)
Top 1%
Bottom 90%
Top 5%
Source: Piketty, T. and Saez, E., The World Top Incomes Database. U.S. before-tax income including K-gains.
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It is not the well off but the very rich or mega-wealthy who are getting it all and more so w/time. The rich have always been rich…but more so today than ever. Is it at the expense of everyone else now? Post GR 2009-13. Top 1% over 95% of all economic gains!! UPDATED 2-21-13
$0
$5,000
$10,000
$15,000
$20,000
$25,000
$30,000
$35,000
$40,000
Ave
rage
Inco
me
(201
1$)
Bottom 90%
Source: Piketty, T. and Saez, E., The World Top Incomes Database. U.S. before-tax income including K-gains.
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Early on stagnating incomes for all but the well off…post WWII a rising tide lifted all boats…everyone getting richer…then stagnation again.
5%
7%
9%
11%
13%
15%
17%
19%
21%
23%
25%19
1319
1619
1919
2219
2519
2819
3119
3419
3719
4019
4319
4619
4919
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5519
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6119
6419
6719
7019
7319
7619
7919
8219
8519
8819
9119
9419
9720
0020
0320
0620
0920
12
1%
Source: Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty. Top 1% income shares (excluding capital gains) in the United States.
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The share of national income that goes to the Top 1%...important in relational to previous slide. Broadly based prosperity has only occurred when the rich took less of the economic pie.
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
20%
22%
24%
26%
Top rates lowered to 25%
FLSA War-era wage increases
·Feds target inflation ·Deregulation--banking ·Reagan breaks air traffic strike
End Glass-Steagall Enact Glass-Steagall
Eisenhower-era 90% top rates
NLRA
Top tax rate 75%
Source: Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty. Top 1% income shares in the United States. CEPR
Crash of ‘29
NAFTA
BushTax cuts
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Presentation Notes
Policy drive outcomes. We get the market that we put into place via rules, regulations, etc. Who makes(buys) the policy matters...now the wealthy and they are controlling more and more of our nations income and wealth. This is NOT an outcome of the ‘free market’…inequality is a function of concentrated power that is sustained by political access/politic and implemented via policy…which begets the wealth even larger shares of the economic pie.
Wealthy Elites & Power
Political access Policies
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Presentation Notes
Vicious self-perpetuating cycle of the rich buying politicians and/or political access via lobbyists, etc. & in turn get their pay back via policies that beget them even more wealth and power. Our system of inequality is stable—accepted and has gone unquestioned for the most part for 4 decades. Those who benefited have convinced the rest that this is fair, just, and the natural order of our free market system. Can’t have health economy or democracy with this degree of inequality. Policies that benefit rich were/are bought… the vicious/destructive cycle is no where near being broken.
1945 94.0%
2013 44.6%
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60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Top
mar
gina
l inc
ome
tax
rate
on
ordi
nary
inco
me
Source: Citizens for Tax Justice. Allegretto 2013
Bush Tax Cuts
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Presentation Notes
UPDATED 2-21-13 This declining trend is not a natural outcome of the free market or some such BS. This is directly from policy…policy by, for and to the benefit of the richest amongst us. We should be debating 50% or 70%! Of course the debate over marginal rates is not really where the big action is for the rich…while many argue about the Bush tax cuts 35% vs 39%...the action is really K-gains.
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50%
100%
150%
200%
250%
300%
Average hourly compensation
Productivity
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Allegretto 2014
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Productivity used to insure ‘real’ gains in our standard of living…no longer the case. Deregulation, decline in union density, pro-business gov’t Some of the most productive workers in the world not getting their fair share.
-7.3% -9.4% -9.0%
-4.7% -2.3%
0.4%
6.7%
18.6%
32.9%
47.4%
-20%
-10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
10th 20th 30th 40th 50th(Median)
60th 70th 80th 90th 95th
Source: BLS Current Population Survey. Allegretto 2014
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Wage growth in CA declining at the middle and bottom…growth only at the top.
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Perfect
Ideal
Estimated
Actual
1st 20% 2nd 20% Middle 20% 4th 20% Top 20%
Source: Norton and Ariely, "Building a Better America“.
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The distribution of wealth is much worse than most American’s think it is…knowledge is necessary to make change.
The Economy:
Community, Workers, Citizens
DEMOCRACY
Corporate power &
the wealthy
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Presentation Notes
Unions, strong NLRB, expansion of worker rights, increased MW, worker organizations such as OUR Walmart, etc… needed today as much as ever. Level the playing field.
The Economy:
Communities, citizens & democracy
Worker Rights
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Presentation Notes
What we really have is US corporations of America. Feds dual mandate…prices and FULL EMP!
